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The more nutritionists analyze different types of diets, the more they discover that vegetarian diets may be the most beneficial option.
But in the process, meat has become pretty villainized, and that may be unfair.
According to the authors of this study, from the University of Naples, “Western omnivore diets are not necessarily detrimental when a certain consumption level of vegetable foods is included.”
If people don’t eat too much meat, and instead increase their amount of fruits, veggies, and legumes, their gut bacteria will be varied and healthy.
The study analyzed different healthy vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores in Italy, and used details about their diet and different fecal and urine samples. This was to study how closely each participant followed the Mediterranean diet.
They found that short-chain fatty acids, which appear in the gut when it breaks down insoluble fiber, appeared across the board, no matter which diet. And the more fruits and veggies they ate, the more short-chain fatty acids there were, regardless of whether or not they were meat or dairy eaters.
However, it was found that people who didn’t follow a Mediterranean omnivorous diet—that is, they ate more red meat and less veggies—contained more trimethylamine oxide, which shows up when your gut breaks down animal proteins and can increase risk of heart disease.
So according to the study authors, as long as you keep your meat consumption at a lower level than your veggie and legume consumption, it’s likely the good will outweigh the bad.
